QPR’s First Continental Tour in 1912: Part One – Paris

Following their defeat in the Kinnaird Shield match against Blackburn Rovers on 4th May 1912, Rangers set off immediately after the game to Charing Cross to embark on the first stage of the Club’s first Continental tour. They travelled overnight to Calais and after a gruelling train journey they arrived at their hotel in Paris at 7am. After a breakfast of rolls and coffee the players rested until midday.

Later, they left the Hotel St. Petersburg and the 1912/13 Club Handbook records: “Lunch over a motor ‘bus quickly took the team to a pleasantly situated ground outside Paris to meet Fulham.” The fixture has been described as an exhibition match, but after the game the Dubonnet trophy was awarded to the victors.

The Club Handbook goes on to state that: “With Birch and Sangster playing, we were, if anything, the better team in the first half, but condition told its tale in the second half, and we were well beaten (4-1) at the finish. McKie, playing at inside left, scored our goal, and incidentally, the best of the match.” The attendance was given as 6,000, but unfortunately there is no record of the Rangers line-up.

However, I managed to pick up some years ago a copy of the French magazine: “La Vie Au Grand Air” which included the above pics from the match. One of the players named is the R’s goalkeeper A. Nicholls.

Rangers then played their second match on the Tuesday when they thrashed Red Star Paris 9-2. Again no record of the R’s line-up, but we do know that three players scored hat-tricks; John Tosswill, Daniel McKie and Jimmy Birch.

The QPR party set off at 8 o’clock on Thursday morning for Southern Germany and arrived in Saarbrucken in time for dinner. A further article on the tour of Germany will follow in due course.

Steve Russell

(One again my appreciation to Peter and Steve for making the 1912 Club Handbook available and also my thanks to Gordon Macey and Martin Percival for their assistance)

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Wikipedia records the following: Red Star Football Club 93 (commonly referred to as Red Star FC, Red Star Paris, Red Star Saint-Ouen, or simply Red Star) is a French association football club based in Saint-Ouen located in the northern suburbs of Paris. The club was founded in 1897 and currently play in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. Red Star plays its home matches at the Stade Bauer located within the commune. The team is managed in a caretaker role by former Red Star player Vincent Doukantié and captained by Bertrand Abissonono.
Despite the club’s current amateur status, Red Star has a rich history. The club was founded in 1897 under the name Red Star Club Français by French football legend Jules Rimet. Rimet later went on to serve as president of both the French Football Federation and FIFA. The FIFA World Cup trophy is named in his honour. Red Star is one of the founding members of Ligue 1 and have spent 19 seasons in the first division; the club’s last stint being in 1974–75. In cup competitions, the club has won five Coupe de France titles, which is tied for fourth-best among clubs.
Red Star have unearthed several talented players during its early existence, most notably Paul Nicolas, who spent nine years at the club. Nicolas later became a catalyst towards the development of professional football in France and was partly responsible for the creation of the Ligue de Football Professionnel. Manager Roger Lemerre started his managerial career with the club before leading France to titles at UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
“Red Star” is not a translation; the club’s name in French is “Red Star”, rather than “Étoile Rouge”.[1][2]